'Not Giving Up on Life': A Holistic Exploration of Resilience among a Sample of Immigrant Canadian Women

Article excerpt

Abstract

We explored the experiences of immigrant women and their journeys before and after coming to Canada and focused on their resilience in overcoming challenges faced during their resettlement process. Considering the many challenges recent immigrant women encountered during their settlement and the associated potential for negative impact, it was important to focus on how the participants withstood adversity and demonstrated resilience. Qualitative methodology made use of repeated in-depth person-centered interviews (n=14) with five women who recently migrated to Canada under immigrant status (other than refugee). Thematic analysis was applied to the qualitative data set. Three major themes emerged from the data: Life before Canada; A journey of compound stressors; and Resilience: Not giving up on life. The study extends the literature on immigrants' resilience in two ways. First, the study moved beyond an exploration of post-migration experience and considered women's lives before and after migration to render a more holistic understanding of their resilience. Second, the study examined how resilience was constituted among the women within their spousal-dyads, and their families. To understand an immigrant woman's resilience is also to understand her life prior to arrival in Canada, the resilience of her marriage and that of her family. Finally, suggestions for future research are also addressed in this study.

Immigration to Canada in recent decades has led to a rise in the number of foreign-born populations. The number of woman immigrants is also increasing steadily. In 2009, Canada welcomed a total of 105,964 women from all over the world (Citizenship and Immigration Canada 2009); of them, 60% arrived as economic class immigrants and 26% as family class. Though immigration brings prosperity, the experience of resettlement to a new country is not simply a matter of adapting to a new culture. Changes in economic, social, and physical environments have a major impact on an individual's overall quality of life, health, and the resettlement process (Casado et al. 2012; Khan and Watson 2005; Schmitz et al. 2003). However, many immigrant women withstand these adversities and demonstrate resilience. …